Schools work

KeshetUK works with pupils, teachers and other school staff members to ensure that Jewish schools are places where all young people can flourish and enjoy learning in an environment that enhances their wellbeing and supports their identity development. Our activities with both staff and pupils help to create cultures where LGBT+ Jewish people feel valued and respected; we do this through delivering inclusion training for teachers and support staff; and through pupil assemblies and workshops that are linked to the PHSE curriculum.

What to expect at a KeshetUK session

Creating a space where people feel able to learn and ask the questions they have is incredibly important to us at KeshetUK. We work very hard to create education spaces that are open and non-judgemental, enabling participants to ask questions and have discussions in a space facilitated by experienced and knowledgeable individuals who are able to support conversations on a variety of topics.

We can also offer confidential spaces for discussions, learning and other educational support. We do not need to advertise or share that we have run a session for your organisation or team.

What we offer schools

Training for staff

LGBT+ inclusion training (primary and secondary) that is appropriate for: Senior leaders and governors | Jewish Studies (Kodesh) teachers | Pastoral teachers | General teaching staff and wider school staff (eg receptionists, dinning hall staff, security etc)
working together with the school to create a more inclusive curriculum (mostly secondary but we have experience of supporting primary schools too)
KeshetUK drop-in sessions for teachers and school staff; this can be in person or online
Meetings with individuals such as rabbis, teachers, staff - in confidence where necessary - to increase their understanding of what including Jewish LGBT+ people and their families could look like.

Sessions for pupils

Assemblies and workshops for all secondary school years, using a spiral curriculum (specific workshops and assemblies for each of Years 7-13 that build on each other each year) delivered by KeshetUK
Assemblies and workshops for primary school pupils in Year 6, focusing on moving to secondary school. Our Y6 workshop uses age-appropriate content and materials to reflect on the impact of hurtful language and to give pupils ideas for ways to use kinder words
mentoring, training and storytelling for equality/inclusion/LGBT+ clubs

Seminars and support for parents, carers and other family members

sessions, both in-person and online, that help adult family members to gain a better understanding of the experiences and needs of young LGBT+ people in their lives (whether they are out or not) and gain skills to facilitate more supportive conversations (this can be run through schools or you can find out more about our general parents, carers and family members work here.)

Please note: All of our work is bespoke for the individual school with which we are working. We understand that each school will have its own ethos and values, and we work alongside school staff to ensure our content is in line with this.

To book a session or to find out more please click here to contact us.

Recent schools' news

Our key achievements over the last few years include:

The wellbeing of LGBT+ pupils - A Guide to orthofox Jewish schools

reaching over 3,500 secondary school students annually with our Year 7 to Year 13 curriculum
delivering LGBT+ inclusion training to over 300 teachers and other staff from both secondary and primary schools - this includes training sessions for Orthodox schools, cross-communal schools and also pre-school nursery teachers
organising for young adult Jewish LGBT+ role models to tell their personal stories to more than 750 students at JCoSS, as part of the school's programme to mark the anniversary of Pride
supporting small groups of LGBT+ pupils in Y12 and Y13 to plan, create and deliver lessons for younger pupils; and helping them to develop their skills needed to mentor younger LGBT+ pupils
working alongside PHSE teachers to support them in reviewing and developing their own curriculum. This method of co-production helps to ensure that LGBT+ pupils and their families are not inadvertently erased from teaching content and materials, while also ensuring that lessons on sensitive subjects are delivered by staff who have ongoing relationships with pupils and who have a strong understanding of their school's ethos and values
continuing to educate both adults and pupils about the ground-breaking document ‘The Wellbeing of LGBT+ Pupils – A Guide for A Guide for Orthodox Jewish Schools’ (2018), which KeshetUK co-created in partnership with Chief Rabbi Mirvis

Testimonies

"Overall we are consistently impressed with the professionalism and level of impact of programming by KeshetUK’s professional and voluntary staff.  Activities for JCoSS staff and students have been pitched appropriately, and have had exactly the right balance of engaging and challenging material.  Keshet facilitators have made significant impact on certain individual students as well as on the school community as a whole.  The support offered by KeshetUK is invaluable in helping us make the school as inclusive as possible."

Sara Lavan, Director of Jewish life, JCoSS (2018)

“The KeshetUK team are always super-organised and a pleasure to work with. Over the years they have taken time and care to learn about our school, our students and their needs; programmes are well targeted to each year group and we are delighted to work with KeshetUK as community partners.”

Melanie Shutz, Assistant Head (Ethos), King Solomon High School (2023)

"It [the schools' guide] is written with great sensitivity and wisdom. It considers both the students who need our support while remaining true to Halacha.

The Chief Rabbi leads the way for all educators in how we must work actively to prevent homophobic, transphobic and biphobic bullying and provide appropriate pastoral support. The guide provides insight on how to listen, use language appropriately and care for our students so they feel supported. It helps and guides schools to ‘think ahead’ and be proactive rather than reactive on this subject. JFS is not only proud to support this initiative but will use the resource to ensure a sense of real inclusivity at school with KeshetUK."

Rachel Fink, Headteacher, JFS (2018) - Quote from the Jewish News